TR 330 
. M55 
Copy 1 



)W TO MAKE 
OOD PRINTS 

A Description of the Popular 
Contact Processes 


TWELFTH THOUSAND 
WHOLLY REWRITTEN 


PRICE, TEN CENTS 


American Photography 
Handbook No. 7 



American Photographic Publishing Co. 
BOSTON, MASS. 








Special Lenses and 
Cameras for 
Portraiture 

in fact, everything in the pho¬ 
tographic field, new or second 
hand, can he purchased to the 
best advantage of 

Carmichaers Camera 
and Lens Exchange 

No bargain list published, but 
send us a letter stating just 
what you wish to buy, sell or 
exchange, and we will guaran¬ 
tee satisfaction. 

CARMICHAEL’S CAMERA 
AND LENS EXCHANGE 

364 Washington Street, Room 2, Boston, Mass. 



HOW TO 

MAKE GOOD PRINTS 

A Description of the Popular 
Contact Processes 


TWELFTH THOUSAND 
WHOLLY REWRITTEN 

Price, Ten Cents 


American Photography Handbook No. 7 


American Photographic Publishing Co. 
BOSTON, MASS. 





Copyright 1914 
by 

American Photographic Publishing Co. 

/'T-YW/ 

4 . 

« * • 

f °- f0 

BiQ '<$ 1914 !<y 

Set, printed and bound in the U. S. A. 
by the Sparrell Print, Boston, Mass. 

©CI.A392816 

Too/ 


POPULAR PRINTING 
PROCESSES 


Importance of the Print.— The words photo¬ 
graph and print are synonymous. The print is the 
end and aim of photography. By it your success or 
failure is judged, for the negative is simply an inter¬ 
mediate step, and a poor negative may be made to 
yield a good print by careful handling. The ama¬ 
teur who studies the different sorts of printing paper 
and learns their possibilities is in a position to make 
far better pictures than his careless brother who 
uses one printing medium for all his negatives. For 
instance, a marine may show to the best advantage 
on blueprint paper; a snow scene, on smooth plat¬ 
inum in clean bluish-black; a woodland view, on 
Velvet Green; and an autumn landscape on rede¬ 
veloped gaslight or bromide paper in a beautiful 
warm sepia color. Again, a faulty negative, inca¬ 
pable of making a good printing-out paper pr'oof, 
may produce a very satisfactory.^effect on one of 
the three grades of contrast in which gaslight papers 
are generally furnished. If only one sort of paper is 
used, the worker is obliged to attempt to make all 
3 


his negatives to fit the qualities of that paper; but 
as negatives vary, in spite of all our care, some will 
fail to print well on the one grade, arid others must 
be resorted to. 

Degrees of Contrast.— Some papers tend to re¬ 
duce the contrasts of the negative, others to increase 
them. A hard negative succeeds well with one class 
and fails with the other, and vice versa. There is, 
however, a happy medium. A plate fully exposed 
and fully developed can be printed on almost any 
paper if the time of printing is correct. Beginners 
generally prefer a print which is brilliant rather than 
harmonious; but as their taste becomes educated, 
they avoid heavy, black, detail-less shadows and 
staring highlights and learn to print on softer papers 
so as to represent nature more as she looks to the 
eye. 

Preparing the Negative.— The first step in print¬ 
ing is to go over the negatives and correct any 
blemishes. Films and plates alike may need clean¬ 
ing, for the wash-water generally leaves a film of 
dirt on them. Wiping the back of the film with a 
soft, dry cloth is sufficient. Glass plates should be 
cleaned and polished with Bon Ami or some other 
non-scratching scouring soap, or a mixture of alco¬ 
hol and ammonia. An ounce each of 95 per cent 
alcohol and stronger ammonia water with two 
ounces of water is an efficient cleanser. It quickly 
removes traces of emulsion, which sometimes get 
on the back during the coating process. 

4 


Spotting.— The cleaned negative should now he 
laid face upward on a sheet of ground glass and ex¬ 
amined by reflected light. A cheap retouching 
frame is convenient, but one can readily be impro¬ 
vised from a mirror and a sheet of ground glass sup¬ 
ported by books at an angle of 45 degrees. Take a 
fine red sable spotting brush and some spotting 
colors and fill any transparent spots by touching 
the almost dry brush to them. A little practice 
soon teaches the knack; and, with care, the spot 
may be filled in so that little spotting of the print 
will be needed. Larger defects can be filled in with 
repeated touches of the brush. Highlights which 
are too dense can be rubbed down with a bit of 
chamois leather moistened with alcohol. Retouch¬ 
ing is fully treated in the first Handbook of this 
series, “Retouching for Amateurs.” The more time 
you spend in smoothing out defects, the easier it 
becomes to make good prints. 

Cleanliness.— Cleanliness throughout is what 
makes the difference between good and bad photo¬ 
graphic work. Trays, graduates, etc., should be 
rinsed both before and after use. At frequent in¬ 
tervals, remove traces of chemicals, stain, etc., by 
letting acid bichromate solution stand in them for 
a short time and then washing thoroughly. An 
ounce of potassium bichromate dissolved in a pint, 
of water and acidified with strong sulphuric acid 
should be kept in a safe place ready for use. It 
keeps indefinitely and can be used over and over. 


Stamped steel trays enameled white or white porce¬ 
lain trays are easiest to keep clean, as they show 
dirt at once. 

Care of the Hands.— The hands should be washed 
with soap and warm water before beginning work, 
taking pains to rinse off all traces of soap. Do not 
use soap in the darkroom, however, as it may get 
into the utensils and cause trouble. If the skin is 
liable to irritation from chemicals, rub a little lano- 
line thoroughly into the fingers and wipe off surface 
grease before beginning work. 

Light for Printing.— Daylight is too uncertain in 
its strength to be quite practical for printing. Sud¬ 
den changes in intensity may take place without 
being noticed by the eye until the loss of a print 
shows that the light has altered. It is far better 
always to use artificial light. The form of the light 
is, of course, governed by circumstances. An oil 
lamp is good, but slow; and many workers are so 
situated that they must depend on-oil. The open 
gas flame is out of date, the Welsbach burner being 
far more powerful and in all cases to be preferred. 
Mazda bulbs are excellent when electric current is 
available. The electric arc is sometimes used, but 
there are many objections to it, not the least of 
which is its flicker. 

A far more practical light of the utmost power is 
the Cooper Hewitt. This familiar blue-green fight 
is photographically most valuable, as its rays affect 
sensitive materials very strongly and it is therefore 
6 


extremely fast. For instance, an unscreened tube 
prints in 3^ second as compared with 5 to 15 sec¬ 
onds for incandescent bulbs. The best way to use 
a tube is to enclose it in a printing box with ground 
glass and shutter. 

This light is suitable also for printing-out papers 
of all kinds, including platinotype, satista, P.O.P., 
and others. In fact, some of the largest producers 
of prints depend exclusively on this light in prefer¬ 
ence to daylight, as the cost of installation and cur¬ 
rent is soon saved by the absence of wasted paper. 
On a large scale, a Cooper Hewitt Quartz lamp can 
be utilized to operate a printing cabinet. The 
steadiness of the light is perhaps its greatest recom¬ 
mendation. 


PRINTING-OUT PAPERS 

Papers which give a visible image by direct print¬ 
ing are called printing-out papers (P.O.P.) because 
the picture prints right out in plain sight. They are 
used in direct sunlight or diffused daylight, as only 
the strongest artificial lights (arc and Cooper Hew¬ 
itt) are powerful enough to affect them in a reason¬ 
able time. The popular papers of this class are 
blueprint, gelatine P.O.P., gelatine and collodion 
self-toning P.O.P., and homemade salted paper. 
Platinum and satista are semi-printing out, as they 
give a visible but faint image which has to be devel¬ 
oped to reach full strength. It is convenient to 
consider all of these together before taking up the 
7 


<developing-ou't papers (D.O.P.) grouped under the 
names of gaslight and bromide papers. 

Blueprint.— Salts of iron, sensitive to light, are 
spread on plain paper to give blue prints on a white 
ground. On exposure under a negative, the orig¬ 
inally yellowish-green surface becomes darkened, 
until finally the deepest shadows present a bronzed 
appearance. When this stage has been reached, the 
middle tones and some of the details in the lights are 
visible, and the print is finished. It is now placed 
in clean running water, in which it instantly turns a 
bright blue; but the washing must be continued for 
twenty minutes to half an hour to insure permanence. 
The slightest trace of soap is fatal to a blueprint, 
so the process should not be carried out in a wash¬ 
bowl. Washing, drying, and mounting complete the 
process. 

The paper is sold in tin cans or can be cheaply 
prepared by the user with any good quality of plain 
paper. The keeping quality is not great. Stale 
paper yields only dull, foggy prints. Moisture is 
the greatest enemy of the process. It is important 
to keep unused paper in the can, removing a sheet 
at a time when needed. 

Negatives.— The type of negative best suited 
for blueprinting is one which has clear glass shadows 
without much detail and dense highlights — in 
other words, the typical snapshot which has been 
fully developed. Thin, weak negatives will not 
make satisfactory prints by this process. 

8 


Printing.— Underprinted paper washes out weak 
and light. Overtimed prints are too dark. The best 
guide to correct printing is not the bronzing of the 
shadows, which may take place early, but the ap¬ 
pearance of the first traces of detail in the high¬ 
lights. 

Making Blue Paper.— A suitable formula for 
making one’s own paper is: 


A. — Ferric-ammonium citrate (green scales).. 110 grains 

Water. 1 ounce 

B. —- Potassium ferricyanide. 40 grains 

Water. 1 ounce 


Mix equal parts and keep in a yellow glass bottle in 
the dark. Filter just before use. Apply to the 
paper (pinned to a drawing board) with a tuft of 
cotton, brushing in both directions until evenly 
moistened. Dry the paper in the dark and use as 
soon as bone dry. Brighter blue tones are obtain¬ 
able by treating the prints with a 2^ per cent so¬ 
lution of alum, a 3 per cent solution of oxalic acid, 
or a 1 per cent bath of hydrochloric acid. The same 
formula can be used for sensitizing cloth. Proceed 
as follows: 

Blue Cloth.— Select a good quality of linen, mus¬ 
lin, mercerized cotton, or other suitable white fabric 
and wash thoroughly to free it from size. When dry, 
immerse for one minute in the sensitizer, wring out, 
and hang up to dry. 

Toning.— The color of blueprints can be altered, 
but the results are uncertain and not very perma¬ 
nent. Blue-gray and purple tones are obtained by 
9 





treating the print in water containing 10 minims of 
ammonia water to the pint. As soon as the desired 
color is reached, bathe in a bath of alum, 120 grains; 
water, 16 ounces. Finally wash in running water 
for half an hour. Brown to black tones are secured 
by bleaching the print in stronger ammonia solution, 
about 1 ounce to the pint of water, and treated with 
a saturated solution of gallic acid, in which the 
image reappears. Wash well and dry between blot¬ 
ters. 

Transparencies.— Blue transparencies can be 
made by using the same sensitizer on a bleached 
negative. The silver is dissolved out of the gelatine 
by treating the waste negative with a strong Farm¬ 
er’s reducer. 


Water to. 4 ounces 

Potassium ferricyanide. 120 grains 

Hypo. 120 grains 


After the image has wholly vanished, wash the 
cleared plate for at least two hours in running water 
and immerse for several minutes in the sensitizer. 
When dry, the plate is ready for printing under the 
negative in daylight. Light-struck plates can be 
cleared in plain hypo and used for this process in¬ 
stead of being wasted. 

Owing to their cheapness and the attractive color, 
blueprints are very popular in spite of their lack of 
gradation. Good negatives are better suited to a 
medium which will bring out more differences be¬ 
tween the middle tones as one sees them in the neg¬ 
ative. 


10 





Self-toning P.O.P.— Second only to blueprint in 
simplicity of working is self-toning paper. It comes 
in two varieties, gelatine and collodion. Both con¬ 
tain the necessary gold to produce a fine brown or 
sepia tone when the prints are fixed in a weak hypo 
bath, with or without a pinch of baking soda. When 
properly fixed and washed, these papers are per¬ 
manent . 

Self-toning papers are sold in a large variety of 
surfaces both single and double weight, and post¬ 
cards. The lighter stock sometimes causes trouble 
by curling, particularly with collodion papers. 

Printing.— The paper is printed with the coated 
side in contact with the dull side of the negative in 
direct sunlight or diffused daylight until it is one or 
two shades darker than required in the finished 
print. A negative fully exposed and fully developed 
is most suitable. The negative must be perfectly 
clean and free from dust. The paper may be dusted, 
but if it is taken from the package by its edges and 
shaken, with extreme care not to touch its coated 
side, dusting with a brush is better omitted. To 
secure sharp contact, it is well to use a felt pad or a 
sheet of rubber cloth backed with pieces of news¬ 
paper to supplement the springs of the printing 
frame. In humid weather, dry the felt pad in the 
oven before using. 

If the print must show the full size of the nega¬ 
tive, use a frame at least one size larger and provide 
it with a stout sheet of clear glass. Center the nega- 

ll 


tive on the larger sheet and thus avoid the shading 
of the edges which may take place in a small frame. 
Put the frame out to print where no shadow from 
branches, etc., can fall on it at any time during the 
printing. There is a superstition that thin nega¬ 
tives should be printed in the shade but facing the 
sky; but this is not at all necessary if printing is not 
overdone. Another old idea was to print under 
ground glass or several thicknesses of the special 
onion-skin tissue paper sold by photographic supply 
dealers. The truth seems to be that these precau¬ 
tions simply help the operator to get his prints off 
in time when handling a large number of frames at 
once. If, however, greater contrast is required, it 
can be secured by fitting the frame with a sheet of 
green glass. Signal green or cathedral green are 
two of the suitable colors. In the same way, a 
harsh negative can be made to yield a softer print 
by using blue glass. 

Examining.— As the prints gain in strength, 
open half of the frame in dull daylight well away 
from the window and examine the print. It takes 
only a few minutes in good light to get a “pretty” 
picture from an average negative. This is called 
the proof stage, as it is then that professional pho¬ 
tographers take off their proofs (and, incidentally, 
put their fingers on them to cause marks and prevent 
dishonest amateurs from trying to tone and keep 
their proofs); but it is not dark enough for toning. 

Fasten the back and continue printing until the 
12 




whole image looks decidedly dark. As the prints 
come off, they should be stored face to face in a 
spare box until all are ready for toning. They may 
even be kept overnight, but most workers prefer 
to tone at once. 

Flattening.— Collodion papers may need to be 
flattened by immersing them one by one face down 
in a smooth-bottomed tray containing a very little 
water. As soon as all are in, drain off the water and 
let the tray stand in a slanting position for ten 
minutes before toning. Some makes of paper 
require several changes of clear water or a salt bath 
to remove free silver; but most self-toning papers 
can be put directly into a bath composed as follows: 

Water to make. 20 ounces 

Hypo. 2 ounces ^ 

Temperature for use. 60 to 70 degrees 

A pinch of baking soda added to this bath will pre¬ 
vent sulphur toning. 

Fixing.— The fixer should be used in a large tray, 
for instance, a 5 x 8 tray for 4x5 prints. Use enough 
hypo to fill the tray to a depth of half an inch. Take 
a print and immerse it face down, turning it over 
immediately to insure even action. Now immerse 
the second print and bring it into contact with the 
first, back to back. Continue in this way until all 
the prints are in, and then handle them in pairs by 
their edges, keeping them constantly on the move 
during the whole time of toning. If they are al¬ 
lowed to mat together, stains and streaks are sure 
13 





to result, either at the time or later. To insure 
permanency, it is best to allow only half a dozen 
4x5 prints or their equivalent to each ounce of 
dry hypo. The time of toning is generally about 
ten minutes at the temperatures mentioned above. 

Dodging.— The control of the color or tone with 
this kind of paper is very limited. As a rule, thin, 
quick-printing negatives do not give so rich a sepia 
as slightly more contrasty ones. The user, notwith¬ 
standing, is cautioned not to conceive an exagger¬ 
ated idea of the contrast needed in the negative. 
Overdeveloped negatives may need to be printed 
with tissue pasted over the frame and worked on 
with powdered Prussian blue to hold back the 
shadows or turpentine to make the paper translucent 
over the dense highlights. Shadows can also be 
held back by working on the glass of the negative 
with a negative-marking pencil or flowing the plate 
with ground-glass substitute, plain or tinted, and 
scraping it away from the portions one wishes to 
print more deeply. An expert professional printer, 
by taking advantage of all these and other dodges, 
can turn out splendid prints from very faulty nega¬ 
tives. The amateur is reminded that such means of 
improving his results are most easily carried out 
with printing-out papers, as their effect can be 
watched. Local shading during printing can easily 
be effected by tearing a piece of cardboard roughly 
to the desired shape and tacking it to the frame. 

Raise the free edge about an inch from the negative 

14 



to avoid printing a sharp line and put the frame out 
in the shade. After a few trials, one becomes expert 
in this sort of work and can modify results in an 
astonishing manner without running the risk of 
spoiling the negative by attempting intensification 
or reduction. 

Blue Tones.— Colder tones, tending to blue, can 
be had on self-toning paper by printing more deeply 
and giving the prints a preliminary bath of common 
salt, say a heaping teaspoonful to a pint of water. 
Strong negatives are needed. Self-toning paper, 
however, does not require quite so brilliant or 
“plucky” a negative as the old variety of P.O.P. 

Washing.— Washing of the prints should be per¬ 
formed by transferring them one by one from tray 
to tray of clear water, allowing twelve five-minute 
changes. If the prints are washed in running water, 
make sure that it does not strike the prints forcibly, 
or it will blister them. Temperature is very im¬ 
portant, even in washing, and all manipulations 
should, if possible, take place between 60 and 70 
degrees at all seasons. 

Drying.— The washed prints should be dried face 
* up on clean blotters. Collodion prints can be dried 
between blotters or even over a source of heat, but 
gelatine papers cannot stand such treatment. 

Ferrotyping.— Glossy prints are given a very high 
polish by the use of squeegee or ferrotype plates. 
It is essential to dry the prints and re wet before 
squeegeeing, or they may stick to the plates. The 
15 


piates are coated with a japan or enamel and should 
be well washed and then rubbed over with a solu¬ 
tion of beeswax or paraffin wax in benzol or tur¬ 
pentine. A few drops are sprinkled on, rubbed all 
around with a soft cloth free from lint, and the final 
polish given with a silk cloth or chamois leather. 
A good formula is: 

Beeswax. 20 grains 

Turpentine. 1 ounce 

When the plates are ready, immerse them in water 
and bring the prints into contact with them under 
water. Remove together, and squeegee the print 
into contact, using a flat rubber squeegee from the 
center toward the corners. Set the plates in a 
moderately warm place to dry. Do not attempt to 
strip off the prints until bone dry, or they will 
surely stick and tear. The tip of a penknife blade 
inserted under one corner will cause the print to 
spring off when it is quite dry. The chief cause of 
prints sticking is failure to dry them and re wet 
before putting them on the plates. 

Matt Prints.— Prints can be given a matt surface 
by squeegeeing to ground glass, .of course without 
any wax. As, however, matt and even rough and 
linen-surfaced papers are now furnished in self-toning 
brands, such a course is seldom necessary. 

Mounting.— Squeegeed prints must be mounted 
dry, using dry mounting tissue, a gelatine mountant, 
or hinge tape. 


16 




Wet mounting is carried on in the usual way. 
Stack all the prints on a sheet of glass. Brush over 
the top one with a good paste on a rubberset bristle 
brush. Lift the print, turn it over, and lower it into 
place on the mount, holding it in a U shape so that 
the middle comes into contact first and lowering 
the ends so that air will be expelled. Success in 
making the print stick will be easy if the paste has 
been worked into the print until it becomes tacky 
and makes the brush drag and the edges and corners 
are well pasted. When the print is correctly placed 
on the mount — an Ingento Centering Square is 
invaluable here — lay a piece of clean lintless 
photographic blotter on it and roll with a good roller 
squeegee. 

Curling.— To prevent curling of the mount, paste 
a piece of paper the same size on the back of the 
mount. Another way is to dry the mounted, prints 
under pressure. 

Prints can be mounted on cheesecloth by pasting 
them while on the ferrotype plates and rubbing the 
cloth into contact, leaving both until dry. In this 
case, they should not be trimmed until after mounting. 
Single-weight paper can also be backed with a sheet 
of the same weight prepared for the purpose under 
the name of backing paper. The coating of the sec¬ 
ond sheet counteracts the curl of the first. Double¬ 
weight paper, however, will stay flat enough without 
such precautions. 


17 


P.O.P.— The older form of printing-out paper 
contained no gold, but had to be washed, toned in an 
alkaline gold bath, and fixed separately. A modi¬ 
fication of the process, a “combined” toning and 
fixing bath, may be mentioned only to condemn it. 
Prints put through such a treatment almost invari¬ 
ably fade in a short time. 

Stock Solutions.— Precise directions are given 
with each make of P.O.P., yet all will work satis¬ 
factorily if the following plan is adopted, as toning 
can take place even in artificial light. The solutions 
required are a 10 per cent solution of ammonium 
sulphocyanide, a 10 per cent solution of common 
salt, a 10 per cent solution of hypo, and a gold bath 
containing 1 grain of gold chloride in each dram of 
water. The principle is to use a definite weight of 
gold for a given number of square inches of paper 
and to leave the prints in the bath until all of the 
gold has been used up. 

Toning Bath.— The toning bath is made up as 
follows:— Measure out 10 ounces of water and add 
2 drams of sulphocyanide solution and 1 ounce of 
salt solution. Mix, and add 1 dram of the solution 
of gold chloride. Label the bottle “Gold Toning 
Bath.” Each ounce of this bath contains 1-10 grain 
of gold, which is sufficient for two 334 x 434 prints. 
For warm brown tones, half to three quarters of an 
ounce is enough; for blue tones, a little more may be 
needed. Other sizes may be readily handled by 
taking more or less bath for each print. 

18 


Toning.— Now suppose that you have ten 
3J4 x 434 prints to tone. Measure out five ounces 
of toning bath and put the prints directly into it 
without previous washing, handling them in pairs 
back to back. Continue to handle them in the bath 
until no further change of color can be seen. The 
final stage is when the surface looks cold and slaty- 
blue. 

Finishing.— Washing, fixing, and finishing are 
the same as already described for self-toning paper. 
Eight to ten minutes is ample time for fixing, and 
the prints should not be left lying in the hypo any 
longer or they will bleach. 

The advantage of this method is that one can 
always duplicate a desired tone if notes are kept of 
the exact amount of toning bath used for a print 
of a certain size to produce a given color. 

Instantaneous Toning.— Another certain method 
of securing uniform tones is the so-called instan¬ 
taneous toning bath. Four stock solutions are 
needed. 


A. — Ammonium sulphocyanide. 1 ounce 

Water to make. 10 ounces 

B. — Gold chloride. 15 grains 

Water to make. 7 Yi ounces 

C. — Sodium phosphate. 1 ounce 

Water to make. 10 ounces 

D. — Saturated solution of borax. 

Mix, for toning ten 4x5 prints: 

A. 1 dram 

Water. 8 drams 

B. 4 drams 

C. 1 dram 

D. 2 drams 


19 













The prints, which should be only one shade darker 
than desired, are put directly into the toning bath 
without previous washing. On entering the bath, 
the prints turn red, but within half a minute they 
assume a beautiful dark purple tone, almost black in 
the deepest shadows. No matter how much longer 
they are left in, they will not change again. As soon 
as the prints have assumed a uniform color, they 
may be fixed, or, if preferred, transferred to a 
tray of clear water until the entire batch is ready 
for fixing. 

Brush Toning.— This method of toning, like the 
preceding, uses up every particle of gold in the 
bath. It is therefore highly important to measure 
out the right quantity for the number of prints to 
be toned. For instance, to tone four 4 x 5 or two 
5x7 prints, measure out 15 minims of sulphocyanide, 
120 minims of water, 60 minims of gold, and so on. 
To use such a small quantity to the best advantage, 
it is a good plan to lay the print face up on a clean 
sheet of glass and brush the toner over it with a tuft 
of cotton or a rubberset camel’s hair brush, letting 
the surplus drip into a graduate. No matter how 
streaky the prints look at first, if the brushing is 
continued they will tone evenly and stop. Ap¬ 
parently they quickly absorb all the gold they are 
capable of taking up and thereby reach a very high 
degree of permanency. Prints toned in this man¬ 
ner have been exposed, half covered, to direct sun¬ 
light for three months without showing any dividing 
line. 

Keeping Quality.— The stock solutions keep 
indefinitely, particularly if made up with distilled 
water a;nd stored in yellow glass bottles in a cool, 
dark place. The mixed bath will not keep more than 
an hour. 

Economy.— Users of this method can easily cal¬ 
culate the exact quantity of each stock required for 

20 


toning a print of a given size, check the figures by 
trial, and draw up a table showing how much to 
take for any number of prints. No gold is wasted, 
so it is extremely economical. It is simpler than 
other methods, as it requires no judgment. Still, 
if the P.O.P. worker prefers, he can follow the plan 
of using a bath of the strength advised by the maker 
of the paper and toning until the print has a par¬ 
ticular color when looked through toward a window. 
The objection to this way is that prints are seldom 
uniform, as the strength of the light has a great deal 
to do with one’s estimate of color. The instantane¬ 
ous method can be worked at night. For instance, 
one can print in the morning before going to business, 
store the prints in a light-tight box, and-finish them 
in the evening. 

Many readers of American Photography have 
written to the Editor that they have tried the in¬ 
stantaneous toner and found it to work perfectly. 
Beginners are earnestly advised to do their toning 
by one or the other of the two methods just given 
until they become expert. Then, if they desire to 
secure other tones, they can experiment with dif¬ 
ferent toning formulas, but we hope that no one 
will be unwise enough to use the combined toning 
and fixing bath and expect the prints to last. Re¬ 
member that P.O.P. is permanent only if fixed as 
directed and then washed until the last trace of 
hypo is removed. 

Homemade Silver Papers.— The amateur can 
sensitize pure paper of good quality, either rough or 
smooth, by “salting” it and afterward sensitizing 
it by floating on a solution of silver nitrate. Any 
of the drawing papers sold by dealers in artists’ 
materials is satisfactory. A simple salting bath is: 


Ammonium chloride. 100 grains 

Gelatine.. 10 grains 

Water to. 10 ounces 


21 





Swell the gelatine in a little cold water and dissolve 
it by warming gently in a water bath. Then add 
the chloride and make up to the required volume. 
The solution must be filtered into a chemically clean 
porcelain tray and the paper floated on it for three 
minutes, then dried in a warm, dark room while 
suspended by a clip from a line. The knack of float¬ 
ing the paper so as to avoid air bubbles is easily 
acquired if one holds the sheet in a U shape and 
lowers the loop until it touches, afterward lowering 
first one and then the other limb of the U. 

Sensitizing.— The dried salted paper keeps in¬ 
definitely. When some is required for use, it is 
floated for a minute or two (depending on the rough¬ 
ness of the paper) on a bath containing 45 grains of 
chemically pure silver nitrate to each ounce of dis¬ 
tilled water. Drying should be rapid, say overnight 
in a warm, dark room. 

Printing.— The paper is printed in the same man¬ 
ner as bought P.O.P., only somewhat deeper, as the 
image tends to “sink in” on account of there being 
no waterproof coating under the sensitive layer. 

Toning.— Toning for warm sepias is in a gold 
bath. Blacker tones can be obtained in a platinum 
bath, as follows: 


Potassium chlorplatinite.4 Vi grains 

Water. 10 ounces 

Nitric acid. 2 to 3 drops 


Albumen Paper.— The old-fashioned glossy al- 
bumenized paper can be obtained from some large 
dealers and sensitized by the user. Lately there has 
been a revival of interest in this old process, and 
several manufacturers have placed on the market 
ready sensitized matt albumen papers. Those who 
are interested can obtain information from their 
dealer. Albumen is undoubtedly more permanent 
than gelatine P.O.P., when properly handled, as 
22 





the many bright prints dating from Civil War times 
show. 

Platinum Paper.—The high cost of platinum 
naturally prevents a popular use of this printing 
'medium, yet it is one of the most beautiful of all 
processes and the image is more permanent than 
the paper on which it is supported. The color is a 
clear, beautiful blue-black to warm black. The 
paper has no gloss, hence the effect is just as artistic 
as a drawing in pencil or charcoal. Although the 
worker can make his own platinum paper, it costs 
him two or three times as much as it does to buy it 
ready for use. 

Platinum paper is sold in tin cans containing a 
lump of preservative, which is necessary to prevent 
the paper from absorbing moisture and spoiling. 
When fresh, the paper is bright yellow on the sen¬ 
sitive side. It is printed in daylight, with every 
precaution to exclude moisture, preferably by means 
of a sheet of rubber cloth behind the paper. 

Printing.— As the paper is extremely rapid, prog¬ 
ress must be noted at frequent intervals. The paper 
must be examined in very weak daylight. The 
image appears gray on a yellow ground. After a 
few trials, it is easy to judge correct printing. The 
first traces of detail should just begin to show faintly 
under the denser portions of the negative, which is 
preferably rather bright though not extremely con¬ 
trasty. An amount of clearness of the shadows 
which would be too much on the clear-glass order 
for most papers is not objectionable for platinum 
printing. A negative with foggy or veiled shadows 
is not at all suitable. Full exposure and full devel¬ 
opment are the requisites. From such a negative, 
platinum will yield a print the delicate gradations 
of which cannot be surpassed by any printing process 
whatsoever. 


23 


Developing and Clearing.— The finished print is 
put directly into a strong bath of potassium oxalate, 
in which the image at once flashes up full strength, 
though it does no harm to leave the print in for a 
longer time. From the developer, it is transferred 
to an acid bath, 1 ounce of chemically pure hydro¬ 
chloric acid to 60 ounces of water. In this it remains 
five minutes, going afterward into two fresh acid 
baths for the same period. A short wash in running 
water completes the process. 

Sepia Paper.— Platinum paper is also made in 
sepia, generally developed in a hot bath, though 
cold-bath sepia papers are obtainable. Of late years, 
the demand has been for warm tones, so the charac¬ 
teristic blue-black is harder to obtain. Papers of 
harder surface are also furnished under the name 
of Japine. 

Satista.— The inventor of platinotype, Mr. Wil¬ 
lis, has lately brought out a paper of the platinum 
class containing this metal and silver. The price 
is only about a third that of the regular platinum 
paper and the results can hardly be distinguished 
from it except by chemical tests. The tones ob¬ 
tainable are black, warm black, and sepia. The 
paper stock, like platinotype, is free from emulsion, 
so that it gives the same refined, artistic effects. 

Rapidity of Printing.— Satista is extremely rapid, 
about five times as fast as P.O.P., and in bright 
light one can attend to only two to four frames at 
a time. The image appears gray on a yellow ground. 
Printing is done when shadows and middle tones 
have made their appearance. Overprinting gives 
dark, muddy prints. The paper is not very sensitive 
to damp, so it can be stored after printing if it is 
not convenient to finish the operations at once. 

Developing.— Development takes place in the 
following bath: 


24 


Hot water. 32 ounces 

Potassium oxalate. 8 ounces 

Oxalic acid. 100 grains 


To be used at not less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 
The image flashes up to full strength, but the print 
should not be taken out until 30 seconds have 
elapsed. Then it is plunged at once into a clearing 
bath. 

Clearing.— 


Warm water. 80 ounces 

Potassium binoxalate (salts of sorrel). 1 ^ ounces 


Two ten-minute changes of this are needed, the 
prints being moved around several times in each 
bath. The second bath should remain colorless; 
if it yellows, use a fresh portion. 

Rinsing.— After the clearing the prints should be 
washed in running water for not less than eight nor 
more than ten minutes. The correct time is ex¬ 
tremely important, as too brief a washing will not 
remove the clearing salt and too prolonged action 
may produce stain. 

Fixing.— The silver remaining in the paper has 
now to be removed by fixing in a 10 per cent plain 
hypo for about 15 minutes. It is important to keep 
the prints moving to insure even action. 

Washing.— The final washing should take not 
less than 40 minutes in running water, again seeing 
that the prints are kept well separated. 

As satista has no gelatine or collodion emulsion, 
it dries flat and stays flat. Its high permanency, 
low price, and high artistic quality should make it 
one of the most popular of all processes among those 
who have time for daylight printing. 


25 







DEVELOPING-OUT PAPERS 

In marked contrast to the papers already spoken 
of is the class of developing-out papers (D.O.P.). 
It includes “gaslight” and bromide papers. The 
line dividing these kinds is not very definite, as 
some papers may be called either a fast gaslight or a 
slow bromide variety. The chief distinction is in 
speed. Bromide papers are of almost as great speed 
as the very slowest plates. White light of any kind 
spoils them instantly; but orange light is perfectly 
safe. Any source of artificial light can be used in 
the darkroom if orange fabric or postoffice paper is 
used and the least trace of white light is excluded. 
The fight should be tested for safety in the same 
way one would test a ruby fight for plates, that is, 
by exposing a piece of the dry paper half covered 
with black paper for about two minutes in the place 
where developing is usually done. Two minutes’ 
development should not cause any darkening of the 
exposed portion, if the developer contains enough 
bromide to prevent fog, so if it darkens, use another 
thickness of orange fabric or postoffice paper over 
the fight. Other points which distinguish a true 
bromide paper are its wide range of tones from a 
pure but not heavy black to a clear white — in 
other words, its great range of gradations—the rela¬ 
tively weak developer required, and the slowness of 
development. A properly timed image appears in 
45 seconds to 1 minute and is not completely devel¬ 
oped until two minutes have elapsed. 

Characteristics of Gaslight Papers.— Gaslight 
papers, though some of them must be handled in 
orange fight to prevent fogging or lead-colored 
whites, develop much more rapidly than bromide 
paper, and most of them have a much shorter range 
26 


of gradation, with a more solid black in the deep 
shadows. They come in several grades of contrast, 
making them suitable for all types of negatives. 
Contrast papers are suited to thin negatives — too 
thin to print on anything else; normal papers, to 
good negatives of average contrast; soft papers, to 
the more brilliant, contrasty negatives which yield 
the best prints on P.O.P. By using the different 
grades, the worker can make his prints as brilliant 
or as harmonious as he chooses. 

Most gaslight papers can be printed by any 
strong artificial light and developed at a distance of 
eight or ten feet from the same light. The best plan, 
however, is to place a screen between the light and 
the worktable and handle the paper in its shadow 
except when it is in the frame and being exposed 
close to the light. 

Choosing a Paper.— Any of the advertised makes 
of gaslight paper will be found reliable if handled 
exactly as the maker directs. Most are made in 
three grades, but a few in two only. Each grade is 
generally offered in a number of surfaces, glossy, 
semi-matt or velvet, matt, rough, etc. The most 
generally useful surface for small prints is the velvet, 
which has a slight but not unpleasant sheen and 
brings out almost as much detail as the glossy or 
enameled surface. Procure the contrast or hard 
grade for your thin negatives which have not suffi¬ 
cient contrast between the highlights and the shad¬ 
ows (underexposed and underdeveloped); the normal 
for good average negatives, and the soft for hard, 
contrasty (overdeveloped) negatives. 

Opening the Paper.— Daylight or strong arti¬ 
ficial light must not be allowed to fall on the surface 
of the paper until it is exposed behind the negative. 
Open the paper in the shadow of your screen (unless' 
orange light is used). It will be found wrapped in 
black paper. The coating has a tendency to pull 
27 



the paper into a curve, with the emulsion on the 
concave side; but in case of doubt you can tell at 
once by biting a corner between your teeth, which 
will stick slightly to the gelatine coating. This is 
the only infallible test. Avoid touching the surface 
with the fingers. 

Loading.—- The negative is put into the frame 
dull side upward and the emulsion side of the paper 
put down upon it. The paper may be dusted before 
putting it into the frame to prevent white spots. 
Fasten the back of the frame and expose. 

Exposing.— The time of exposure must be found 
by experiment. Hold the frame directly opposite 
the light at a distance equal to the diagonal of the 
negative, that is, about 7 inches for a 4 x 5, 10 for a 
5x7, etc. If the frame is brought too close to the 
fight, the middle of the picture will receive more 
exposure than the edges and come out too dark as 
compared with the corners. It is advisable always 
to print at exactly the same distance from the fight. 
A handy wrinkle is to tie a string to the fight fix¬ 
ture and tie a knot in it at the right distance. Then 
the string can be pulled taut and the frame brought 
up to the knot. Other plans will suggest them¬ 
selves to the reader to suit his own arrangement of 
apparatus. The importance of uniform distance is 
evident when one remembers that an exposure 
made at double the distance takes not twice but 
four times as long; the law is, exposure varies as 
the square of the distance. 

Guide to Exposure.— The best guide to correct 
exposure is found in the direction sheet which comes 
with the paper. The maker states the correct time 
of development for his formula at ordinary temper¬ 
atures. Thus, a certain make may need 15 seconds, 
another 45 seconds; but, whatever the time, a proper 
exposure will reach full strength in that time and 
pause without growing darker. If, now, the print 
28 


is too hard or too soft to suit, the only way to get a 
better result is to choose a different grade of paper 
for the next trial. In any case, read every word of 
the direction sheet several times before beginning work. 
A sheet of paper cut into strips and used for finding 
the best exposure is the truest economy. 

Developing.— The exposed paper is taken from 
the frame and immersed face upward in the devel¬ 
oper. Have the solution about half an inch deep in 
the tray, hold the paper slanting, plunge one edge 
into the developer and push the sheet under, at 
once turning it over and back to break up any air 
bubbles — but if the procedure is properly carried 
out there will not be any. The image soon appears 
on the surface and rapidly darkens until it is strong 
enough. An underexposed sheet will not reach full 
strength in the right time and had better be thrown 
away, as if left in too long it will stain yellow all 
over or begin to turn gray in the whites. The lati¬ 
tude, or permissible variation of exposure, is very 
small with gaslight papers. Overtimed paper 
develops quickly and blackens too much. If the 
developer contains too much bromide the print will 
have a sickly greenish or brownish tone, no matter 
how quickly one snatches it out. Success, therefore, 
depends on getting the exposure exactly right. 

Rinsing.— The moment the print has become 
dark enough, it must be taken from the developer 
and rinsed either in plain w r ater or weak acid. In 
the latter case, if the room is lighted with a safe 
orange illumination, the print may remain in the 
acid until a number have accumulated, as the devel¬ 
oper is “killed” by the acid. If the light is not orange, 
remove the print at once to the acid fixing bath. 
A short rinse, just enough to remove most of the 
alkaline developer, is all that is needed. 

Fixing.— D.O.P. should invariably be fixed in a 
fresh, strong acid hypo. The acid fixers sold for 
29 



paper are reliable, or the user can mix his own from 
the formula in the direction sheet. Good, perma¬ 
nent prints can be made only by using a fresh bath 
for each lot of prints. The print should be sub¬ 
merged at once and completely. A glass filter 
funnel, stem up, is handy; or a stick can be used. 
Avoid putting your fingers into the hypo, and, in 
any case, rinse them in clear water and dry them on a 
clean towel before touching another sheet of paper. 
The slightest trace of hypo spattered or carried into 
the developer will produce spots and stains. Every 
time you put another print into the hypo, move 
the others around with the stick. Don’t let them 
float up to the surface. After the first print 
has been in for ten minutes, turn all face down 
and continue putting prints in face up for an¬ 
other ten minutes. Then remove the first lot 
to a tray of clear water. Too long fixing may lead 
to a brownish tone in the middle tints of the print 
unless the bath is kept cold with ice. Some makers 
say that ten minutes is long enough for single¬ 
weight and twenty minutes for double-weight paper; 
but the time given will be found satisfactory. 

Working in orange fight and using the acid short 
stop (one ounce of acetic acid to the quart of water; 
frequently renewed, if many prints are making), one 
can leave the fixing to be done at the end of the . 
printing. This is a good plan, as one can keep the 
prints moving and separated thoroughly for ten to 
twenty minutes and is then sure that they will be 
completely and evenly fixed. 

Washing.— Complete removal of hypo is essen¬ 
tial if the prints are to remain unaltered for a rea¬ 
sonable time. A picture on D.O.P. should be as 
permanent as a negative. A troublesome but effec¬ 
tive way is to give twelve five-minute changes in 
two trays. Any method of washing, to be effective, 
must keep the prints well separated and not let 
30 


them lie at the bottom of the dish in a pool of hypo 
solution which has washed out and settled. There 
are several very good automatic washers on the 
market. The writer uses two Ingento washers of 
different sizes and finds that they do the work of 
eliminating hypo in half an hour. The washer must 
be large enough to allow the prints to revolve freely 
all the time. One designed for 4 x 5 prints will not 
work well with 4x6 paper, for example. If the 
family washbowl is the only utensil available for 
use with running water, take out the prints every 
ten minutes, drain the bowl, and refill; also keep 
handling them over all the time. A piece of stout 
rubber tubing attached to the faucet, stoppered at 
the other end, and pierced with holes, can often 
be adjusted so as to keep the prints moving and 
separated. The same idea can be applied to a tray 
or a tank. 

Hypo Test.— The test for elimination of hypo is 
as follows: 


Potassium permanganate... 2 grains 

Potassium carbonate. 20 grains 

Distilled water to. 40 ounces 


Take a little of this solution in a clean graduate and 
hold the prints so that they will drip into it. If 
the pink color is discharged and replaced by a 
greenish-yellow or a brown coloration, hypo is 
present, and the washing should be continued until 
the drippings no longer cause any alteration in the 
permanganate solution. 

Cleaning.— When the prints come from the wash¬ 
ing water, dirt will invariably be found on them. 
Stack them face up on a sheet of glass and clean 
them one by one with a tuft of absorbent cotton. 
You will be surprised to see how much dirt there is 
on them. 


31 






Drying.— Well-hardened prints can be dried 
between blotters under pressure in a hot place. A 
roll is best. Procure a large pasteboard mailing 
tube and wind good lintless photographic blotting 
paper around it, laying the prints face up. This of 
course makes them curl inward; but, on being re¬ 
moved from the roll, they will lie flat when they are 
thoroughly dry. 

A simpler method of drying is to lay the cleaned 
prints face down on cheesecloth stretchers. They 
will curl somewhat when dry, and should then be 
evenly moistened on the backs and placed between 
blotters under pressure until quite dry. 

Straightening.— Curled prints can be straigh¬ 
tened when dry by laying them on any hard, smooth 
surface and drawing them gently under a straight 
edge. If they are given a marked curl in the wrong 
direction, they straighten out nicely on being put 
under pressure for a short time. 

Finishing.— The mounting of D.O.P. is carried 
out just as with gelatine P.O.P. The glossy kind 
can be squeegeed in the same manner on ferrotype 
plates. 

Defects, such as white spots, are easily touched 
out with a fine sable brush and a set of spotting 
colors. 

Redevelopment.— The image of a black-and- 
white gaslight print consists of pure metallic silver 
in gelatine. The picture can be turned into a beauti¬ 
ful sepia by converting the silver to silver sulphide. 
The process consists of two steps, bleaching and 
redeveloping. 

Bleaching.— The bleaching formula is: 


Potassium ferricyanide. 100 grains 

Potassium bromide. 100 grains 

Water to. 10 ounces 


The well-washed black print is put into this bath 
32 





and left until all traces of black have disappeared 
from the deepest shadows. 

Redeveloping.— The print is then rinsed and put 
into the sulphide bath, in which the image redevelops 
to a rich sepia. 


Hot water. 15 ounces 

Sodium sulphide (not sulphite). 3 ounces 


Boil ten minutes, fitter, and add 

Water to. 25 ounces 


To redevelop, take 1 ounce of this stock to from 12 
to 20 ounces of water. Finally wash well. 

Redevelopment should never be done in a room 
where sensitive materials are kept, as the sulphide 
fumes will spoil plates and papers very quickly. 

Hypo-Alum Toning.— A method of sepia toning 
which gives purplish-brown tones is to treat the 
black prints in a bath containing precipitated sul¬ 
phur. Used cold, it tones in several hours; used 
hot, in a few minutes. A suitable formula is: 


Hypo. 5 ounces 

Powdered alum. 1 ounce 

Boiling water. f . 70 ounces 


This bath is milky and must not be filtered. It 
should be “ripened” by putting in a few spoiled 
prints or adding a few grains of silver nitrate and 
common salt. The older it gets, the better it works, 
if kept up to the original bulk by adding water and 
fresh bath from time to time. 

Control of Contrast. — Both of these toning pro¬ 
cesses reduce the contrast of the prints, so they are 
best fitted to pictures of considerable vigor. A soft, 
well-balanced black-and-white picture seldom looks 
well when redeveloped. 

Control of Color.— The color of the original print 
controls the shade of the resulting sepia. For sul- 
33 











phide toning, use as little bromide as possible — just 
enough to hold the highlights clear and give a blue- 
black deposit. For hypo-alum, use more of bromide, 
as a warm-black original gives the finest tone. 

There are, naturally, many modifications of these 
formulas issued by different makers to suit their 
own papers; but the reader will find them fully 
covered in the manuals which they furnish on re¬ 
quest to users of their goods. Space will not permit 
treating them here. 

Bromide Printing.— Although bromide paper is 
used mostly for enlarging, it can be used for contact 
printing in much the same manner as gaslight paper. 
It needs rather a stronger negative. In fact, a good 
print can often be turned out on bromide from a 
negative too hard for any grade of gaslight paper. 

Exposing.— The exposure for bromide paper is 
very short. One or two matches burned about three 
feet from the frame is often sufficient illumination 
for an average negative. 

Developing.— The developer is used only about 
half as strong as for gaslight paper. The image 
appears in about a minute and is not completely 
developed in the fights until another minute has 
passed. As the paper tends to softness, brilliant 
results can be obtained only by giving short expo¬ 
sure and using the normal developer. Soft, gray 
prints, with a lovely pearly quality, are secured by 
overexposing about four times and developing with 
double or triple the usual amount of water and plenty 
of bromide. In other respects, it is handled just, 
like gaslight paper. 


34 


FORMULAS 


Metol-Hydrochinon.— Makers’ formulas are al¬ 
ways safe, for some papers need a very strong bath 
and others would be spoiled unless they were treated 
in a weaker solution. A good average formula has 
been given by E. J. Wall. 


MetoL.. 25 grains 

Sodium sulphite, anhydrous. 350 grains 

Sodium carbonate, dry granular. 260 grains 

Hydrochinon. 36 grains 

Water. 16 ounces 


This can be used for negatives by diluting with an 
equal quantity of water. For papers, take 1 part 
of solution, 3 parts of water, and add 10 minims of 
potassium bromide 10 per cent solution for each 8 


ounces of diluted developer. 

Bromide Solution.— A 10 per cent solution of 
bromide is: 

Potassium bromide. 48 grains 

Water to. 1 ounce 

Each minim (drop) contains T V grain. A saturat¬ 
ed (65 per cent) solution is: 

Potassium bromide. 312 grains 

Water to. 1 ounce 

Each minim contains 0.65 grain. 

Amidol for Gaslight Paper.— The writer has 


tried many formulas and prefers the following where 
rich, blue-black prints are desired. Overexposure 
gives disagreeable greenish tones. The developer 
must be prepared at the time of use. 


Water to make... 10 ounces 

Sodium sulphite, anhydrous. 250 grains 

Amidol. 50 grains 

Potassium bromide. 2 grains 


35 

















Use full strength for hard-working papers. Dilute 
with an equal volume of water for soft-working 
papers. 

Amidol for Bromide Papers.— Strong, rich prints 
on bromide papers can be obtained with the fol¬ 
lowing: 


Water to make. 20 ounces 

Sodium sulphite, anhydrous. 325 grains 

Amidol. 50 grains 

Potassium bromide. 10 grains 


The same formula, with more water, yields pure 
black to gray prints. 

A Universal Developer.— The writer has worked 
out the following two-solution duratol-hydrochinon 
for general use on films, plates, and all kinds 
of D.O.P. 


A. — Water to make. 32 ounces 

Potassium metabisulphite. 60 grains 

Dissolve and add 

Duratol. 30 grains 

Hydrochinon. 90 grains 

B. — Water to make. 32 ounces 

Sodium sulphite, anhydrous . 1 Yi ounces 

Sodium carbonate, dry granular. 2 ounces 


For gaslight papers and films, equal parts of A 
and B, with bromide only if necessary to keep the 
whites clear. 

For plates and bromide paper, 1 A, 1 B, 2 water. 

For tank development, 16 to 24 minutes at 65 
degrees Fahrenheit, 1 A, 1 B, 4 water. 

The proportions of this developer are properly 
balanced and should not be altered except to use 
more or less water. It gives good results at all 
temperatures from 40 to 80, and has some very 
definite advantages possessed by no other combina¬ 
tion. Among them are: less tendency to fog or 
stain, fuller range of gradation, and greater control. 

36 













It develops papers slowly and therefore allows more 
latitude in exposure than the faster-working M.-Q. 

Acid Hypo.— One of the best acid hypo baths is 
the simplest of all. Either potassium metabisul¬ 
phite or sodium bisulphite can be used as the acid 
clearer and hardener. 


Water (warm). 64 ounces 

Hypo. 16 ounces 

Dissolve and add 

Water (cool). 16 ounces 

Potassium metabisulphite. 1 to 2 ounces 

or 

Water. 16 ounces 

Sodium bisulphite, granular. 1 to 1 Vi ounces 

(or Lumi&re’s liquid).2 to 3 ounces 


If excessive hardening action is required in hot 
weather, 3^ ounce of powdered potassium alum can 
be dissolved in the hardener before adding it to the 
hypo. Chrome alum can be used if preferred. 


37 












NOSLIP PRINTING MASK 

(patented) 

FOR PRINTING FILM NEGATIVES 


T HE NOSLIP PRINTING MASK is the latest improve¬ 
ment in printing masks. It does away entirely with the 
slipping of the negative when placing the paper in position 
in the printing frame which frequently occurs with all of the 
old-style masks. It does away with all bad and ill-shaped edges, 
leaving a neat even white border all around the print. This 
mask has pockets in the four corners into which the film is 
slipped. Full directions with each set of masks. Each set con¬ 
sists of three masks, one for postcards and one each with oval 
and square opening the size of the negative film. 

PRICES 

No. 1. For 2 34 x 334 Film Negative, per set.. .$0.50 Postpaid 

No. 2. For 2J/£ x 434 Film Negative, per set... .50 “ 

No. 3. For 3 34x4 ! 4 Film Negative, per set... .50 “ 

No. 4. For 3)4 x 5)4 Film Negative, per set... .50 “ 

No. 5. For 4 x5 Film Negative, per set... .50 “ 

GEORGE MURPHY, Inc., Retail Department 
57 East Ninth Street, New York 

Send for New Tariff Changed No. 14 Mail-Order Cash Catalogue 


38 







Home Portraiture 


is one of the most attractive possibilities 
of amateur photography. The best way 
to insure good results is to equip your 
camera with a 

Bausch & Lomb-Zeiss 
Tessar Ic 

This wonderful lens is ideal for home 
portraiture because of its remarkable 
speed (f: 4.5) and its covering power. It 
is about three times as fast as the or¬ 
dinary lens and invaluable for exposures 
under weak light in the house. 

New photographic catalog on application 
at your dealer, or free on request to us. 


BAUSCH & LOMB OPTICAL CO. 

630 ST. PAUL STREET - ROCHESTER, N. Y. 
New York Washington Chicago San Francisco 


39 









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40 








PAPERS 


P. O. P. A printing-out paper very simple 
to work, produces beautiful rich tones by 
the use of hypo only. 4 grades. 

S. C. P. Known as the “Queen of Gaslight 
Papers.” Has a wide latitude in exposure 
and development and produces prints of 
great beauty. 4 grades. 

Bromide. The “Standard Bromide of the 
World.” Made under the most scientific 
conditions and highest grade material insur¬ 
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grades. 

Price list of Wellington Plates , Papers and 
Films sent on request. 

SOLE UNITED STATES AGENTS 

RALPH HARRIS & COMPANY 

26-30 BROMFIELD ST., BOSTON, MASS. 
New York Salesrooms : 108 FULTON ST. 


41 






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42 




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deal because you buy DIRECT FROM OUR 
FACTORY PREPAID. Quick to print—extreme 
latitude—brilliancy with detail. 



“INSTANTO TRIAL OFFER SEND 25c FOR 
THREE DOZEN 4 x 6 OR POSTALS — CHOICE OF 
SEMI-MATTE, GLOSS OR DEAD-MATTE SUR¬ 
FACES. HARD, SOFT OR EXTRA HARD GRADES. 



“PLATORA TRIAL OFFER ” —SEND 50c FOR 
THREE DOZEN 4 x 6 OR POSTALS, ASSORTED 
GRADES—INCLUDING LINEN SURFACE. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE—Either or both offers can be accepted, but 
not more than once. Full instructions, prices, etc., will be sent. 


FROn FACTORr 

TO YOU 
PREPAID 


The Photo Products Co. 

(Dept. R) 

6100 LaSalle St., Chicago 



43 

























The Photo-Beacon 
Exposure-Card 

is the most convenient and practical help in 
determining the correct exposure for any subject. 

The new edition (Seventieth Thousand) has 
been carefully revised to include all the films 
and plates on the American market. In every 
instance the speed has been determined by 
scientific tests by a renowned expert. 

The Card assigns to each factor concerned in 
exposure — subject, stop, light, hour and plate 
— a number. These are found in the tables 
and added. No multiplication is necessary. 
The sum is then looked out on a final table, and 
opposite this number is found the exposure in 
fractions of a second, minutes or hours. 

The Card is Absolutely Reliable 

and will save its cost (25 cents) on the first roll 
of film or box of plates. Thousands of experi¬ 
enced advanced photographers depend on it for 
all their exposures, indoors and out. 

Ask your dealer for it or send 25 cents to the 
publishers 

AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY 
221 Columbus Avenue, Boston, Mass. 


44 



All Sorts of 

Cooper Hewitt Electric Lamps 

for All Sorts of Printing 



An outfit for Platinum Printing. Gives rapid 
and uniform prints. No waste due to over and 
under exposure. No loss because of moisture. 

“Indispensable where efficiency in printing is 
concerned” —Frank Scott Clark. 

Other outfits described, Bulletin 49-c. 

Cooper Hewitt Electric Company 

8th and Grand Streets, Hoboken, N. J. 

Boston, 161 Summer St.; Chicago, 215 Fisher Bldg.; 
Cincinnati, First National Bank Bldg.; Cleveland, 
Engineers Bldg.; Detroit, Ford Bldg.; Minneapolis, 
Metropolitan Life Bldg.; Philadelphia, 124 S. 8th St.; 
Pittsburgh, Westinghouse Bldg.; St. Louis, Central Nat. 
Bank Bldg. 


45 






Popular Photography 

“THE MAGAZINE THAT 
SHOWS YOU HOW” 

A photographic magazine which publishes the 
short, practical articles which the average ama¬ 
teur wants. Nothing advanced or beyond the 
understanding of the worker who does not care 
to go deeply into photographic processes but 
who does wish to get the best possible results 
from every exposure. The magazine is well 
illustrated with sharp, clear photographs, all of 
which are fully described and criticized, with 
suggestions for improvement. Hundreds have 
said that it is just what they were waiting for: 
so will you, when you see a copy. 

NO FREE SAMPLE COPIES 


SINGLE COPIES.10 CENTS 

YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION.ONE DOLLAR 

FOUR MONTHS’ TRIAL.25 CENTS 


POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY 

221 Columbus Avenue Boston, Mass. 


46 







New York Camera Exchange 

109 FULTON STREET - NEW YORK 


Are we acquainted? If 
not we both lose money 

The Original Exchange House. 
Established 1890. 

We buy, sell and exchange 
Cameras and Lenses. 

Bargains always on hand. 

If you are thinking of getting 
a new lens or camera, let us 
help you. 

Agents for all makes of Cam¬ 
eras and Lenses. 

Send for our new bargain list. 


J. H. ANDREWS - - Proprietor 


47 





A Universal Developer for Plates 
Films and Paper 

EASTMAN 

SPECIAL 

DEVELOPER 

Gives both negatives and prints of 
perfect quality, does not stain the 
fingers, is economical and con¬ 
venient. 

An Ideal Developer for Velox 


THE PRICE 

Carton of five glass tubes.$.25 

Carton of six powders. ..25 


EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY 

ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

A t your dealer's 


48 





Good negatives and good prints depend 
upon proper fixing as well as proper de¬ 
velopment. Be sure of your results — 
insist on having 

KODAK Acid 
Fixing Powder 

It contains the necessary amount of 
the proper chemicals to keep the film 
or paper hard and firm during fixing 
and washing, to prevent staining 
and to insure permanency of results 
if used according to instructions. 

Kodak Acid Fixing Powder is made with special 
regard to its use with Kodak film and Velox and 
other developing-out papers. It is right for the 
purpose — is an important link in the simple, 
certain Kodak way of picture making. 

Look for the seal 
on the package 

Eastman Kodak Go., Rochester, N. Y. 





Prints by Gaslight 


FOR THAT BEST POSSIBLE PRINT: 

VELOX 

One of the grades of Velox will make 
the best possible print from each of your 
negatives. 

It fits because it is made with special 
regard to amateur requirements — is the 
amateur’s own paper. 

The “Velox Book,” a complete illustrated manual on 
Velox printing, is free at your dealer’s, or by mail. 

NEPERA DIVISION 

EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY 
ROCHESTER, N. Y. 

At your dealer’s 






